


Another Year Gone By

by Pers



Category: Whitechapel (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 06:32:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17823689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pers/pseuds/Pers
Summary: Birthdays were definitely one of those things that DI Joseph Chandler could do without.





	Another Year Gone By

**Author's Note:**

  * For [slightlytookish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/gifts).



Birthdays were definitely one of those things that DI Joseph Chandler could do without. To him, it only meant that another year had gone by without him having achieved anything. 

Things had been different when he'd been younger, of course. There had been the obligatory birthday celebrations when he'd been a child, and then in later years, he'd always been invited to a nice dinner by Commander Anderson. 

Those days were over now. He'd only received a polite voice message from the Commander that morning, which to be honest was more than Chandler had expected. 

As Chandler drove towards Whitechapel police station, he tried to mentally prepare himself for what lay in store for him there. Miles wouldn't have forgotten it was Chandler's birthday, there would be at least some kind of remark about Joe's joints starting to creak, or some such nonsense.

And the team... Last year, they had thrown him a birthday party. Mansell had emptied all of the station's hole punchers, and the confetti had gotten everywhere! Kent had given Chandler a small present (a black mug that said _#1 Boss_ in golden letters, which Chandler used whenever he needed to cheer himself up), and Ed and Riley had even organized some cake and good coffee.

This year though, Chandler didn't feel like celebrating at all. Perhaps he should have called in sick, he mused as he pulled into the station parking lot. 

But while Chandler may not have been the most accomplished Detective Inspector, a coward he was not. So after taking a few calming breaths, and applying a judicious amount of tiger balm, he got out of his car and went into the station.

"Morning, boss," Miles greeted him cheerfully, but made no mention of birthdays. Perhaps he'd forgotten after all? Well, Chandler could hope. He quickly disappeared into his small office before Miles remembered.

One by one, the rest of the team arrived. Each greeted Chandler, but didn't congratulate him on his birthday. Even Kent only said a curt "Good morning, sir," before diving back into the pile of paperwork on his desk. 

Chandler knew that Kent was studying for his sergeant's examination, so perhaps he had his head too full of other things to remember such a trivial thing as Chandler's birthday. Still, Chandler couldn't help but feel a little pang in his heart.

To distract himself, he decided to make himself a nice cup of green tea. His hands hovered over his usual bone china tea set for a moment, but then he reached for the #1 Boss mug instead. If he'd ever needed cheering up, it was on his birthday.

Chandler thought he detected a smile on Kent's face when he walked past the DC's desk, but a moment later Kent was already leaning over his paperwork in a way that Chandler couldn't see his face. 

The day continued like any other day at the incident room. That was to say, without any incident at all. The team worked on paperwork, following up old leads. Every once in a while, someone cracked a joke, or threw a scrunched up ball of paper at Kent. No one made any mention of Chandler's birthday. It was just what he had wished for. Really, he should be happy that no one was making a fuss about his birthday. And yet...

When Ed came by for a visit, Chandler almost hoped to be treated to a long lecture about the history of birthdays. But Ed only asked if there were any interesting cases he could help with. There weren't any, of course. The team had been pushing paper for weeks.

As the day progressed, Chandler began to feel almost disappointed that no one had remembered his birthday. Well, the day would be over soon anyway. Chandler had plans for the evening - a glass of wine and a good book. He didn't need birthday parties. 

He began watching the clock, torn between wanting the day to be over already, and someone, anyone, remembering his birthday. No, not just anyone. His team.

But evening arrived without any birthday greetings or impromptu parties. One by one, the team left to go home. Each called out a "good night, sir" in their respective manner, and after a while, there were only Miles and Chandler left. 

Miles was already reaching for his coat, and Chandler felt something akin to regret. He almost called out to his DS to ask him to join Chandler for a drink. But Miles would be wanting to get home to his family. 

The phone on Miles' desk rang, and Miles picked up, one arm already in his coat sleeve. He listened with a grim face, jotting down a few notes, then he murmured his assent and hung up. 

Miles shrugged on his coat and went to knock on Chandler's door. Chandler quickly busied himself with arranging his already neat desk. 

"We might have got a case, boss," Miles said. "Doctor Llewellyn is already waiting for us."

He looked disgruntled, probably wishing he hadn't picked up the phone. 

"Well, I can take care of that," Chandler told him. "You go home to your family, Miles."

But Miles insisted on coming along, and even offered to drive, because that way he'd be able to get home more quickly afterwards. 

They drove in silence, after Miles had given him the sparse facts about their new case. There wasn't a lot to go on, the desk sergeant who had called Miles had probably wanted to get home as well. Chandler didn't mind having to work on a Friday night - especially not tonight because it distracted him from feeling miserable and lonely - but he felt sorry for Miles. He would have to make sure the DS was able to take some time off soon.

Chandler hadn't asked Miles where they were going, but as he looked outside the window now, the streets began to look somewhat familiar.

"Miles, isn't this where you live?" he asked, surprised that this area was part of the Whitechapel jurisdiction. 

"Very astute of you. I was wondering how long it would take you to catch on."

"Miles? What do you mean?"

Miles pulled over and gave Chandler a long, hard look. "Did you really think that we'd forget about your birthday?"

Chandler could feel himself blush. "I..."

"You really should know better than that, Joe. But I have to admit, it was almost fun to watch you mope around all day."

"Miles."

"Kent deserves a medal for acting like he didn't remember. We were sure he was going to break down any minute and sing you happy birthday. Mansell must have threatened him in some way."

"Miles."

"Anyway, we are having a little party at my house. The whole team will be there with their families, and Caroline will be there as well." He gave Chandler a searching look. "Now, you don't have to come along if you'd rather not. I can make up some kind of excuse about you having prior commitments. It's your decision."

Chandler thought about it. Here was his chance to escape, to spend his evening by himself just as he'd planned to. But he couldn't ignore how happy he'd felt when Miles had revealed that they hadn't forgotten his birthday after all. 

He cleared his throat. "No, it's fine. You can drive on."

Miles' face broke into a grin. "I knew you'd come to your senses!"

Just as Miles had said, the whole team was waiting for them at Miles' house. The living-room had been decorated with a large banner saying _Happy birthday Joe!_ , and there was even a birthday cake. Everyone sang him happy birthday - it was loud and out of tune, but it made Chandler smile nevertheless.

There were presents, too. A large jar of tiger balm, and Miles' daughter had drawn a picture especially for Chandler. There were several colourful blobs on it, depicting the Miles family and Joe himself. It was one of the best presents he'd ever received. 

A few hours later, the party was still in full swing, and Chandler had escaped to the fish pond to get a breath of fresh air and a moment to himself. It wasn't long before Miles found him. 

"Had enough for the night?" Miles asked. "I can call you a taxi, if you like."

"No, it's fine. I just needed some fresh air."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all."

They stood there in companionable silence for a while, before Chandler turned towards Miles and thanked him for the party. 

"You really didn't need to go through all that trouble though," he added. Miles just snorted, and Chandler felt himself compelled to go on. "It just seems a bit presumptuous to celebrate my birthday when I haven't really accomplished anything in the past year."

Now Miles was positively glaring at him. "You really don't get it, do you? The kids love you, you're practically part of the family. Kent is taking his sergeant's examination soon, something which seemed impossible just a few years ago. Hell, even Mansell is mellowing down a bit. So don't try to tell me you haven't accomplished anything."

"I... I haven't really looked at it that way before," Chandler admitted. And he hadn't. To him, accomplishments had always meant being top of his class, or getting ahead in his career. But perhaps that wasn't the only way to make an impression.

Miles had given him something to think about, but he didn't want to spend the whole evening pondering by the pond. He turned towards Miles again. "Shall we go back inside and get some more cake?"

"Glad to hear you've finally come to your senses!"


End file.
